Breeze Restaurant Bangkok and Silom nightlife

Brad arrived in Bangkok the day before yesterday and it was great to see him. We really missed each other and I think the time apart just made us more appreciative of each other. We booked into Asha Guest House for the first evening but were disturbed so badly by some guests in the next room, that we checked out the next morning. After taking Brad to Chatachuk market, we made our way into the Silom area where we found ourselves a little bit of luxury - Silom Village Guest House. At only 45 AU$ per night we felt that it was worth it. The hotel is comparable to a 5 star in Perth and it is only classed as 3 star in Bangkok. Anyway after settling in at Silom Village we strolled around the area getting our bearings. After about 5 hours of walking we were totally shot to pieces, so it was an early night for us....yeah I know.....just far tooooo much excitement!!!!! The next day was our 17th wedding anniversary and we had booked one of the best restaurants in Bangkok called "The Breeze Restaurant" which is an open air restaurant perched on the 52 floor of the 64 floor high building of the Lebau State Tower. My god we could have been in HOLLYWOOD! It was like walking the red carpet on our arrival at the restaurant. From the moment you walk into the state tower itself you are greeted by an entourage of thai people. They move with you to the 52nd floor where you are seated whilst they make sure your booking and table is organised. They then accompany you over the luminious skywalk (red carpet) up to the bar and then over to your table. Our table was the closest table to the edge of the platform. All that separated us from the drop was a glass dome shaped panel. As you can imagine, the view was spectacular. The food was just as good with us sampling specialties such as shark fin soup, lobster, scallops, kobe beef, caviar, french wine and Moet champagne - YUM! I can highly recommend this place if you are up for a lavish evening. It is a once in a lifetime experience, but expect to pay top dollar for it too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are now living on rice and lentils (still getting over it) hehehehehe. After "Breeze", we checked out the other facilities of the State Tower. The other restaurant called "Sirocco" also looked fabulous. The cocktail lounge was hilarious. It was full of wanna-be's, lying around on the couches and looking around to see who was looking at them.

The next day we spent sightseeing the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, which were both equally as good as each other. SAME, SAME, but different........ After we had finished there we both had a kip and then it was off out to find somewhere for dinner. We decided to head down to the "Patpong" strip of Silom for a bit of an education. I must have had "Ping Pong" written on my forehead as I was asked a million times by Thai touts if I would care to see a ping pong show - very sexy. I was starting to get a complex!!!! NO I don't want ping pong, just a nice cold beer will be fine! Eventually after having a quite drink in a small bar, Brad and I set off to find a place for dinner. We ended up in the gay district, which was so much quieter and no touts. Had a great meal there and very friendly staff...so all in all...another great evening in Paradise.

Overnight Train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

A nice slow start to the day getting organized for the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. Took off to MBK (huge department store in the Siam area of Bangkok) to have some lunch and a look around. The place is huge and has everything you can image and very cheap. After that, jumped on a ferry and cruised along the river past the Grand Palace and several other Wats, including Wat Arun which looks incredible from the outside, so I shall go there with Brad when he arrives in Bangkok. The Taxi Driver who took us to MBK was hilarious. He told us that one of his pass times was impersonating Elvis Presley and so then he began to serenade us. After every tune we clapped for him and he would say in his Elvis voice "Oh thank you, thank you very much". It was so funny!! A Thai Taxi Driver singing Elvis..........you just had to be there to appreciate the moment. Anyway once we got back to Asha Guest House, we had a couple of drinks and before long were in a taxi on the way to the Samsen Train Station to catch our train. On boarding the train, Tracy and I were not put in the same berth so I got chatting to a French family who resided in Phuket and were bunking in my berth. When it was bed time I wasn't quite ready for bed so I got chatting to some people from the UK and we all went to the "bar" carriage on the train for drinks. They were great company and it was nice to exchange travel stories. After drinks they played cards, but I was well and truly ready for my bed, so I climbed up to my bunk and hit the sack. The bed on the train was actually softer than the bed that I had been sleeping on at Asha Guest House, so I had a really comfortable sleep and would highly recommend the train trip to anyone. Its a great experience, safe and cheap. The arrival in Chiang Mai was quite refreshing as it was not as polluted as Bangkok and a little quieter. We booked into a Guest House called the Green Tulip, which was recommended by Jo (a lady we met whilst staying at Asha). We were so pleased at the standard of this place for only approx $12AU a night split between the two of us. The place is clean and the people are friendly so if anyone is looking for a place to camp in Chiang Mai, I can highly recommend this place. I hope this post has made sense, as I have felt very weird today. A light headed, almost motion sickness feeling, but I'm sure it will pass. Not sure what tomorrow will bring - maybe a little meditation or yoga. I am thinking of doing 5 day Yoga/Meditation course which includes course notes and 3 hours of meditation/yoga per day. Also looking at a Hilltribe Trek a little north of Chiang Mai.......options options.....